Walcott: I can see clearly now
ARSENE WENGER believes Theo Walcott has at last achieved “clarity” in his mind about his football – and that is why he deserved another chance at Arsenal. Walcott goes into tonight’s Champions League tie against Basle at the Emirates in the best form of his topsy-turvy career, with three goals in seven games, having started all six Premier League games for his club. After a dismal last season in which Walcott, 27, started only one of the Gunners’ final 14 games and was dumped out of England’s Euro 2016 squad, the forward admitted he reassessed his career and vowed to work harder. Now he admits he wished he had done it sooner. Walcott said: “I’ve just looked at myself. There’s no point dwelling on the past.
“The manager has shown tremendous faith in me and I want to repay that.
“It all comes down to performances. I want this team to do well. You can see that in my desire and the way I’m playing.
“I want it more than anyone else. It maybe should have hit me a few years ago, because there has been a change in my attitude.
“It’s all down to hard work. I’ve worked hard from the back end of last season and I’ve continued throughout the summer. I want to be better than the day before. I found it difficult last year. I spoke to people and it woke up something in my system.
“I am completely different. People have had so much faith in me and you need to repay them. But I also need to do it for myself now. Maybe in the past I was thinking about others and not myself.”
Wenger and Walcott had a pre-season chat and the Frenchman was impressed with the change in the onetime boy wonder. “He had clarity in his head,” said the manager. “In all our lives, that clarity is the most important factor. Once you have that, you have a chance.
“Theo’s career is made of highs and lows. I always stuck with him because he is ambitious. But he is also intelligent and with intelligent people there is always a chance. After the Euros he thought about the problem. I had a chat with him and he was clear.
“He is a strong character and when you look at his career, he has gone up and down more than anyone.
“At 17 he was at a World Cup, but has not been to one since. He has had big injuries, big setbacks, had questions about his quality and his commitment.
“He has assessed it all and come to a conclusion that looked very positive to me. That’s why I thought he deserved a big chance.”
Arsenal opened their European campaign with a battling 1-1 draw at Paris Saint-Germain and a win tonight would put them in a good position to reach the knock-out stages.